No one gets left behind
by Artemis Diane
Summary: After explaining what Valentine's Day and White Day to all of her friends in the past, Kagome feels like she's been left behind...


**AN/Disclaimer- I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters. I did this for a writing contest and thought that it would make a nice addition to the fanfiction world.**

Kagome sat on the edge of the well, wondering what to do next. Hopelessness filled her soul and she blinked back the tears she wanted to let fall. It was just hours into the afternoon on White Day, yet here she was sitting alone in the middle of nowhere with no one to call her valentine. Sango and Miroku had gone off somewhere after Kagome explained it to them while giving all her friends their gifts on Valentine's Day. Inuyasha had disappeared altogether, but Kagome wasn't stupid. She knew where he was, and where he had been going for the last several months. Letting out a sigh, she looked up at the pretty, clear blue sky, wondering if she would ever find someone for her.

A giggle distracted her from her musings and she turned to find Shippo and Rin chasing a few butterflies with Kirara hot of their tails. She smiled at them; glad that even through what they had all been through, the two young children could still be children. Their youthful innocence made Kagome feel better slightly and she began to recall how it came to this. For the past several weeks Sesshoumaru and his companions had joined with the Inuyasha team to finally rid the world of the evil of the Sacred Jewel of Four Souls and Naraku. So far, nothing but fighting had become of it. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru couldn't go more than a few hours without the verbal barbs and insults. It drove Kagome mad. Even Shippo and Rin didn't get along at first. Shippo got very insecure when Rin started hanging around Kagome and he had begun to pick on her as a result. After a long talk with the both of them, before Sesshoumaru killed the small kit, everything was straightened out and they became fast friends as a result.

Speaking of the devil, Kagome turned to see Sesshoumaru leaning up against a tree, watching the two children, his arms crossed in from of him. Letting out a small chuckle, Kagome remembered the fiasco when that had happened. It had been after a really nasty battle with Naraku throwing all of his little creations at them at once. They had gotten away, but barely and not without a lot of injuries. After she had gotten her friends settled and looked after, Kagome heard Rin's panicked scream. Jaken had joined her, and Kagome turned to see that Sesshoumaru had collapsed against a tree, his chest plate shattered and he was bleeding heavily. Rushing over to him, she checked over his wounds. It had been bad, very bad. Looking at his face, she could tell that he knew he was going to die. There were multiple wounds on his chest from where Kagura had send the wind blades, tentacle wounds from where Naraku had gotten him, and other cuts that had just happened due to battle. Kagome looked at Rin, who had tears pouring down her cheeks, and Jaken looked very pale.

Something inside her woke at the look on the daiyoukai's face, the knowing this is your final time of earth look. His face stayed blank, as he always had it, but his eyes swam with the knowledge and regret that goes through every living thing as it dies. Kagome sat down her bag and quickly began to remove what was left of his armor. Surprisingly enough, Jaken helped her do it without any snarky comments, which made Kagome realize the gravity of the situation. Summoning all the healing power she possessed, she placed her hands on the biggest wound first, willing it to close. In her mind Kagome was screaming at him to live. He had to, for his lands, for Rin, for Jaken, even for Inuyasha. Her hand then glowed a brilliant pink and she had passed out. When she woke, she discovered that, not only did she heal all of his wounds, but he had regrown his arm and healed all of her friends in one shot. Sesshoumaru had asked her later why she had saved him, and Kagome smiled, telling him that he was still needed here and that he shouldn't give up just yet.

"What has gotten your attention so much that I can sneak up on you like this, miko?" A deep voice beside her made Kagome squeal and jump.

"Just remembering how it all came to this. All of us, together fighting for the fate of the world, all coming from completely different backgrounds and places; it just seems so…surreal. Never in my wildest dreams would I have put this in my future, yet here I am."

"Yes…here you are."

Kagome turned and smiled at the handsome daiyoukai next to her. Handsome didn't seem to be right…more like ethereal. Everything about him seemed like it was made by the gods and made to be perfect. Then again, his name said it all.

"Something bothering you, Sesshoumaru? Usually I have to chase you around with a stick to get you to talk to me."

He gave her a deadpan look and raised his eyebrow at her. "I am not the half-breed, miko, and you should do kindly to remember that."

"Oh blah, blah. You don't scare me with that look, and in Inuyasha's defense it only happened once. But seriously, what's wrong? I mean I know I'm probably the last person you want to share all your feelings with, but still…"

"I'm in need of an answer to a puzzle that I find quite perplexing, and you seemed like the best choice to solve it."

"I can't promise anything, but go ahead and ask."

"As you had described your affection holiday, it seems rather odd that all of your pack mates had paired off and mated, but you as the Alpha female, remains unmated. Yet even so, you are so at peace with the world. Tell me, miko, why is that?"

Kagome smiled. "Well I'll be willing to bet that is the most I've ever heard you say in one shot." Giggling slightly, she continued on. "I guess I can try and help you solve your puzzle. I love my friends, Sesshoumaru. And I want them to be as happy as they can be. I want all of their dreams to come true so that years down the line, they will have no regrets about the life they lived." Kagome sighed. "And as for being the only one not paired up, well I don't really have a lot of choices at this point in time. At the least, I want someone who wants me for who I am, not what I can do; which leaves Inuyasha, not that he would want me, and Kouga. And as for being the Alpha female, how do you figure that?"

"You are female, and you take care of your pack. It's that simple."

"I thought that she had to be the strongest one in the pack?"

"She also must be nurturing. Pack mates that do not get along well and have no one to care for them soon fall."

"Oh, well I guess that makes sense."

"One more question, if you don't mind, miko."

"Go for it."

"Explain this, 'White Day'."

"I have once already, and I know you were listening, because you were within ten feet of me."

"Once more, if you please."

"Fine." Kagome grumbled, not liking to have to repeat herself. "White Day comes after Valentine's Day, or the 'affection holiday' as you call it. It is where the male gives a gift to the women who mean a lot to him. It could be his mother, sister, good friend, or his lover, just someone whom he cares for. That way, he can tell her that she is special in his mind, just like she did by giving him the chocolate."

"Hn. Seems to me your friends do not think you special, if that is the case."

"Well, they're all with someone that they care for and love, which is gift enough for me. Plus with Inuyasha being occupied, I get some quiet time."

Sesshoumaru smirked, then pulled a small, silk wrapped gift from his sleeve. Handing it to Kagome, he watched her expression change from curiosity to shock, then to gratitude. "You didn't have to get me anything, Sesshoumaru. I didn't want to make you feel obligated to get me something just because I gave something to you."

"Open it."

And she did. Inside was a beautiful necklace. It was made of three thin pieces of leather, knotted in places. Between each knot, on each separate piece of leather, was a deep blue bead strung on. It was something Kagome had never seen before, and her eyes teared up. She gave a watery smile at Sesshoumaru. "Thank you…."

"Each of those beads is a sapphire taken from one of my mother's head pieces. I am supposed to give it to the female that I am to mate."

"Then why give it to me?"

Sesshoumaru gave Kagome a look that made her blush, a look that promised many hours of naughty things and untold pleasures. "Because, little miko, only the Alpha male can mate with the Alpha female…."

Kagome paled, knowing she was in for the time of her life, but maybe….maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing.


End file.
